More
by bluesimageburgundy
Summary: Caroline shows up at Stefan's door. Set in season 6. Right after 6x10.
1. Chapter 1

Stefan was sitting. Just sitting on his sofa, listening to the rain and enjoying the feel of being back in his own home. He sipped at a glass of bourbon. His mind kept straying back to Caroline and Liz, but the entire situation made him feel hopeless so he tried not to think about it.

A tiny knock at the door surprised him. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly 2 am. He opened the door hesitantly to find his best friend, tiny and soaking wet from the rain.

"Caroline, hey...is everything okay?" he asked, slightly panicked.

"Yeah," she assured him, quickly, "Yeah, it's okay, I guess. I just...the hospital sent me home and I didn't want to be at home, so..." She looked down and kicked gently at the pink bags at her feet.

He realized that she was still standing out in the cold and he hadn't invited her in yet.

"Come in," he said quickly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her inside. He grabbed the overnight bags from her feet and closed the door behind them.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asked, motioning her toward the fire to get dry and warm.

"Coffee would be amazing," she admitted, taking off her coat and settling into the chair nearest to the fire.

He stopped in the doorway as he was about to enter the room with two cups of coffee. He took her in. Her hair wavy from the rain, her cheeks glowing in the firelight. She was beautiful. Of course, he knew that. He had known that from the start. The difference being that before he had been blinded by his love for Elena. And now that that had faded, he was able to see what was in front of him.

Caroline sensed him in the room and twisted around, catching him staring at her. She smiled weakly as she caught his eye. Stefan came out of his fog and pushed himself out of the doorway, walking toward Caroline with the coffee.

"Thanks," she said as she breathed in the hot liquid.

"So...how's-?" he began to ask.

"Don't," she cut him off.

Stefan looked at her, confused.

"I'm sorry. But I just can't talk about that right now. I'm..exhausted," she breathed.

Stefan nodded in understanding, sipping his own coffee.

"Is that okay?" she asked.

Stefan smiled, "Of course it is."

She sipped her coffee again before something seemed to occur to her. "Is Damon here? Because I really don't think I can deal with his mouth right now," she said, beginning to put down her cup and make a run for it.

Stefan gently caught her arm. "Damon's drunk and asleep. Apparently Elena stood him up yesterday." Stefan tried not to smile about that. Caroline didn't even try.

Caroline yawned. Stefan laughed. "I'm not sure I've ever seen a vampire yawn before," he said.

"That should be a clue to how exhausted I am," Caroline chuckled.

"You can sleep in my bed," Stefan said.

Caroline arched an eyebrow at him and opened her mouth to speak. Stefan realized then how that had sounded.

"I mean, you can have my bed and I'll take one of the guest rooms. My bed is the most comfortable and it's the farthest away from Damon's room." he quickly added.

Caroline closed her mouth and then smiled, embarrassed but appreciative. She took another sip of her coffee before standing up and stretching. Stefan caught a glimpse of her flat stomach as her sweater lifted up, and looked away quickly.

"Just make yourself at home," he said, walking behind her into the kitchen to put their cups in the sink. She stopped in the doorway on their way out and turned around to face him. "Thanks for everything, Stefan." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tight squeeze. Stefan froze for a moment before putting his own arms around her waist and savoring the warmth of their joined bodies. That's when he remembered something he had noticed earlier. He pulled back without releasing her and looked up, clearing his throat. Caroline looked at his face and then looked up to where his eyes were pointing.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile as she noticed the mistletoe. She loosened her arms but didn't take them off, just clasped her hands behind his neck and let them dangle loosely from him like they were at a middle school dance.

"Looks like Damon booby trapped the entire house with mistletoe," Stefan laughed and looked past her into the kitchen, fighting the urge to get lost in her clear blue eyes, to let his eyes drift down to her warm, pink lips.

Caroline giggled nervously, but didn't move away. Her own eyes found his lips and she licked her lips unconsciously. When neither of them moved away or said anything and their smiles fell into more serious expressions, a tension fell over them.

"Stefan..." she said in barely a whisper, fear, excitement and warning in her voice.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, dangerously close to her mouth. He could feel her warm breath so close to his mouth, but he resisted the almost painful urge to kiss her again. He pulled away and read her expression. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks pink.

She slowly fluttered her eyes open and smiled. It wasn't the time for more. She needed him to be her friend. Even if there was a possibility that now both of them wanted more. "More" was a complication that she didn't have the energy for, at least not tonight.

He let go first. Dropping his hands from her waist and stepping back, allowing her to walk past him and up the stairs.

"I'll...uhh...get you settled in and get you some clean sheets," he said, nervously, grabbing her bags and following her up.

"Your sheets are fine, Stefan," she said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

A hot shiver ran up his back at the idea of her sleeping surrounded by his scent all night. And even more so at the thought of her sweet smell sinking into his sheets for him to have to deal with later.

He didn't know where this was coming from, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Caroline Forbes had finally gotten under his skin and wasn't going anywhere for a while. She stopped at his bedroom door.

"Merry Christmas, by the way," she said, cheerfully, sounding more like herself than she had in sometime.

"Merry Christmas, Caroline," Stefan said, as he handed her her bags and watched her walk into his room and shut the door.

He let out a huff of breath and smiled to himself. No one had said it but she was obviously moving in, at least while she was taking care of her mom. Things at the Salvatore Mansion were about to get a lot more interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

_Caroline gasped as Stefan gripped her thighs with one hand and tugged gently on her hair with the other, tilting her head back to give him access to her mouth. He covered her lips with his own, his tongue gliding hot against hers and making her legs weak. He seemed to sense that and slid his hand around to hold her up by her backside. Her bare legs wrapped around him as he pushed her harder against the wall. When the heat between her legs met the rock hard front of his pants, Caroline closed her eyes and whimpered while Stefan growled in a way she'd never heard before. His tongue was back in her mouth in an instant, claiming every inch of it as his own. He reached between them to unzip his dress pants and tugged her panties to the side. Their eyes met as he slowly..._

The buzzing alarm was the worst kind of betrayal. Caroline awoke with a gasp, every cell in her body humming with an array of emotions. Mostly complete and utter arousal, but also some devastation and confusion and embarrassment. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and blew out a puff of air. That was new. Unfortunately, everyone and their neighbor knew that she had recently had a crush on Stefan. But that was over now. And it certainly had never come to the point of dirty dreams.

She didn't want to believe that it was because she had invited herself to move in, that she'd fallen asleep in his bed. With the smell of him all over the sheets. Her mind hadn't exactly NOT been in the gutter as she was falling asleep. She swallowed hard and swung her legs over the side of the giant bed. This bed was definitely not for sleeping in alone. She shook her head, clearing the thought. It was 7:00 am. She had planned to be back at the hospital as soon as visiting hours started at 8:00. Digging through her bag, she found a change of clothes and then poked her head out of Stefan's bedroom. She looked down one side of the hallway and then the other. The coast was clear.

Caroline tip toed, as if her vampire housemates couldn't hear that, down the hall to the bathroom. She eyed the claw foot tub with hearts in her eyes, but knew that would have to wait until later. Her mind was racing in the shower. Going over everything from whether or not she should go back to school after winter break, to whether she could ask the witches about how to help her mom, to whether or not Stefan was considering kissing her lips last night under the mistletoe. It was pretty obvious that he was thinking about it. But he had made it crystal clear that he only thought of her as a friend, much to her humiliation. Putting yourself out there emotionally is really overrated.

She lost all track of time pondering in the shower and had to wriggle into her sweater and jeans with her skin still wet, toss her damp hair up into a bun and skip the makeup. She opened the bathroom door with steam pouring out around her. Just in time to step out in front of Stefan who was making his way down the hall.

"Sorry," she giggled, as she was met with his hands on on her upper arms.

"Excuse me," he said in unison.

They smiled shyly. She watched as he looked her over, still holding her arms gently. He smelled like coffee and light musk and Stefan and his eyes were raking all over her like she couldn't see him. Vivid images from her dream came crashing through her memory and she felt heat spread over her from head to toe. Caroline swallowed hard.

"I was just on my way back to the hospital," she said, distantly, her eyes now focused on where his thumbs had begun to rub back and forth on the soft cashmere of her gray sweater.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," he said, seeming to come out of a haze, dropping his hands from her arms, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, that's okay," she said, stepping back to get some air and clear her head, "Thanks though, Stefan. I'll talk to you later."

He smiled and nodded, stepping aside to let her pass and go down the stairs.

Caroline grabbed her purse from the sofa where she had left it the night before and let herself out. She fell back against the door as soon as she shut it and exhaled dramatically. This morning had been interesting. She wasn't sure if it was exciting or just overwhelming right now. They had just fixed their fractured friendship, and even dreaming about more than that made her feel guilty. But the alternative was going home to her empty house and that wasn't something that she even wanted to think about. So she did her best to push Stefan out of her mind and went to the hospital to visit her mom.


	3. Chapter 3

Hours had passed since the little incident in the hallway and Stefan was still thinking about it. He was trying his best to read, but his mind was still in the hallway. He had been in a fog. Unable to process how intimate it was to cross paths in the hallway. To see Caroline freshly showered, damp and bare-faced first thing in the morning. He couldn't seem to remove his hands from her or stop looking at how her skin glowed and how her sweater hugged her curves. This was risky business. And this was just day one of their new living arrangement. It seemed like her crush had somehow manifested itself into his brain and grown into something more intense.

"Hey," Damon said, breezing past and startling Stefan out of his thoughts, "Have you talked to Elena?"

Stefan bristled a little at his brother asking about their mutual ex. It had always bothered him how casual they both seemed to be while discussing their relationship with Stefan. As if he hadn't considered Elena the love of his life and as if Damon wasn't his brother. But, at this point, he'd be more surprised if either of them ever DID consider his feelings. It was just another reason that he was lucky to have Caroline, who always considered his feelings first. And another reason why he shouldn't mess up this friendship with whatever had come over him this morning.

"Uhh, no," Stefan answered, finally giving up and closing the book he was only pretending to read, "Not since that day at the hospital."

"Hmm," Damon said, sipping at a drink and thinking.

"Why?" Stefan asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Damon answered, "I just haven't heard from her in a while. Not since the other night when she was supposed to come over."

"Huh," Stefan said, also finding it a little weird that neither of them had heard from Elena in a few days.

Damon left without saying where he was going. Stefan called Elena's phone a few times only to get her voicemail. He was a little worried himself, but he figured Damon was on his way to look for her so he tried to forget about it for now.

What he did find himself doing was tidying up his...or Caroline's room. He opened the curtains to allow the sunlight in to make it look cheerier. He made up the bed that she had hastily vacated, pausing to enjoy the smell of Caroline on his sheets. He considered taking her clothes out of her suitcase and putting them away in the drawers as a sign of welcome, but he thought better of it when he realized he'd be snooping through her underthings.

He took the picture of she and her mom that he saw sticking out of her suitcase and looked at it sadly for a moment before he placed it on his nightstand. They were such a happy and relatively functional little family. Neither of them deserved the hell they were going through. Family was something that Stefan took seriously. And something that he had so little of for himself.

His phone started ringing from the guest room he'd been occupying, so he smoothed his bedspread one last time and then went to answer it. It was Damon.

"Kai has Elena," Damon said immediately, "I know where they are. I'm coming to get you."

Stefan stood, shocked, trying to process the information.

That's when Caroline returned home. Stefan listened to her car turn off, the sound of her boots on the porch, the heavy door closing behind her, and her muted sniffles as she approached the stairs.

Stefan slowly put the phone down on the bed and began to walk toward the sound of Caroline crying.

"Hey," he said, walking down the stairs to meet a morose Caroline halfway, "What's wrong?"

She tried to hide her face but it was too late for that. She swiped at a tear and then tried to laugh it off with a soft chuckle.

"Just...a really hard day," she admitted, stepping up to his outstretch arms without a hesitation. This was getting too easy. Falling into his arms. She stayed one step down from him, skewing their height difference and allowing her head to land directly on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head.

She pulled away and smiled appreciatively, feeling somewhat better already.

"Can we just hang out tonight?" she came right out and asked, "Can we just get a pizza and some wine and just watch garbage on TV and not think?"

Stefan flinched. The offer sounded amazing. And he was so happy and relieved that she even felt close enough to him again to make him an offer like that. Her fingertips began to make lazy circles against his back and she melted a little closer against him. And that foggy thing was happening to him again. But he knew he couldn't do it. He had to tell her.

"Caroline..." he began, dropping his arms from her.

The smile fell from her face as she took in his concerned look.

"What? What's going on?" she asked.

"It's Elena," Stefan told her, "Kai has her."

Caroline's mouth fell open, "Oh my god..."

"Damon's on his way. We're going to get her back," Stefan explained.

Caroline nodded slowly, "Well, I'm coming with you."

"I'd rather you didn't..." Stefan said, reluctant to tell her what to do, but taking a chance on expressing his wishes anyway.

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms, irate.

"Well, I feel like the more people we have, the more people are going to end up hurt," he explained, "Damon's going in to talk to Kai, I'm hiding in the shadows for backup."

"Okay, but isn't Kai like this all-powerful witch now? How are you guys going to take him?" she asked.

"I don't think the plan is to try to "take him", I think it's more a trade of some kind," Stefan answered, unsure himself what they planned to do.

"Trading for what?" she asked, confused.

"I'm...not sure," Stefan admitted.

"And you're just going to march right in there without any idea what you're up against?" Caroline snapped.

"Well...yeah, I mean, I have to. He has Elena," Stefan answered.

Caroline stepped away then, turned and walked back down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked, following her down the stairs.

"Home," she said coldly, "Call me when you're back. Let me know that everyone is okay."

"You don't want to just wait here?" he asked.

"No, I really don't want to wait for you to come home. What if you don't? You really think I can lose anyone else right now, Stefan?" she admitted, her voice cracking.

Stefan considered staying with her, sending Damon on the rescue mission alone. He wondered what his role would even be in this rescue. It wasn't a fight so much as a bargain, so what good would Stefan do? But he had already lost Damon once and sending him off alone to face Kai just didn't feel right. So, he let Caroline walk out the door. Let her slam it behind her. He flinched at the sound.


	4. Chapter 4

Caroline was crying in her car. Again. Just trying to get home. Not that she even wanted to be there. Fat raindrops were beginning to splash against her windshield. More blurry water to try to see through in addition to her own teary eyes. A sob wracked her body and she tried to focus on the road. Caroline had been emotional as a human, so now...well, she was doomed to be a puddle of tears whenever she was upset about anything. Although now, she felt justified. Her mom was supposedly dying of cancer, Bonnie was still missing, Elena was kidnapped, she was unreasonably homesick for Stefan after only a day, and going home to an empty house.

She stifled her sobs, turned off the car and made her way through the rain to the door. It felt so familiar, standing on the porch, the porch light illuminating her, jangling her keys to find the right one. But knowing that the house was cold and empty on the other side made her stomach lurch. She unlocked the door and let herself in, shaking the rain out of her face.

Everything was in a state of suspended animation. How her mom had left things before coming to spend Christmas with her. She was sure if she looked through the trash there would be doctor's notices, empty pill bottles. Evidence of her mom's, now exposed, little secret. But otherwise, everything was exactly as it should be. As it had always been.

It didn't seem like it had been months since she was last here. She locked the door behind her, placed her keys and purse on the counter and looked around. Home. She ran her fingertips along the countertops, along the back of the sofa, she stopped her look at herself in the hall mirror. Her makeup smeared, cheeks stained with black mascara tears, her hair again wavy from the rain. She wiped helplessly at her face for a moment before giving up with a little puff of laughter. She looked down the hall. The door to her mom's room was cracked so she let herself in.

Everything smelled like her mom and it brought a sad smile to her face. Her fingers brushed against the police uniform hanging up on the back of the door and she closed the door to get a better look at it. So frumpy. How often had she fussed at her mom for showing up to dinners, parties, whatever still in her uniform. "Wear something nice!" Caroline would say. But now, looking at the ugly uniform on the back of the door, she realized it was her mom's skin. It was who she was. And it was beautiful. Caroline felt a tear tumble down her cheek as she shut the door.

She made her way back to the kitchen and checked her phone for messages. She wondered about Elena, wanted to hear from Stefan. But there was nothing and it sent another chill of loneliness through her. This wasn't how she imagined her night going. By now she figured that she and Stefan would be finishing up their first bottle of wine and onto their second mindless reality show. Her feet would have crept onto his lap, he would be toying with the idea of placing his hand on her ankle. That kind of dangerously flirty stuff you do when you're best friends with someone who just happens to be really hot. Because that's all it was, right? It couldn't be more. She refused to let it be more. Because otherwise it would just hurt more to be alone right now.

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, she popped it open and settled into the sofa. The cushions were cold and stiff, unaccustomed to being used. She settled in and tried to get comfortable, slipping out of her boots and sweater. Eyes on the TV but losing focus as her mind drifted elsewhere. She was asleep in minutes.

A click of the front door startled her awake. She lifted, bleary eyed from the couch and looked toward the kitchen. Stefan was letting himself in with the spare key from under the rug. Caroline smiled at the familiar gesture. She awoke more fully as she watched him take off his rain-soaked jacket, trying to read his expression for signs of how the rescue attempt had gone.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied. It was typical opening dialogue, but it felt different with them for some reason.

"How'd it go?" Caroline asked, sitting up and turning toward him as he seated himself next to her on the couch.

"Elena's okay," he said, relieved.

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief.

"And Kai?" Caroline asked, pensively.

Stefan shook his head, indicating that Kai was still out there. Still a threat to all of them. Caroline didn't press further. Little about the Kai situation made sense to her.

"Bonnie?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head again. Still alone in purgatory.

"And Elena is..." Caroline began.

"Damon took her home," Stefan said, looking at the floor before glancing up to meet Caroline's eyes.

So that's why he had come here. Seeing them together was still hard for him. Caroline didn't want to believe that it was because he still loved her. But part of her couldn't shake the thought. Right now, though, she was just glad for the company. They both looked silently at the muted infomercials on TV. Caroline relaxed back into the couch, her sock-clad feet finding their way to Stefan's lap after all. He looked at her wiggling toes and smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

Stefan had driven straight to Caroline's house after Elena was safe, not even attempting the awkward meeting at the door. Him, his brother, the ex love of his life. It was all very...Days of our Lives and he was ready to be done with it. Plus, he felt like a failure after Kai escaped and he just really wanted to see Caroline.

The drive to the Forbes' house felt foreign after so many months. The exterior cold and lonely compared to the warmth it used to exude. He took the spare key from below the doormat and let himself in, knowing that Caroline would be inside asleep. He took off his coat and shook out the rain.

As expected, Caroline was asleep on the couch. Rousing slightly from the noise of his entrance. He noted her sleepy eyes and hair with a smile, reading her expression as she read his. Hoping that she wasn't too upset with him for ditching her tonight. When she only inquired about the rescue, he sat gingerly next to her on the couch and filled her in on what happened. She seemed satisfied with the bare details. Seemed welcoming when he casually mentioned about Elena being at home with Damon. He appreciated her more than she knew.

Then they were watching TV on mute in comfortable silence. And her feet were wriggling on his lap and he couldn't help but smile. The night had managed to turn out nearly how Caroline had wanted it, even while squeezing in a quick rescue mission. It made him feel like, even in the midst of the constant nightmare that was their lives, that they might still manage to have a life worth living in between the danger.

He looked at Caroline, the flashing lights of the TV in the dark reflecting off of her sparkling blue eyes. The warm blonde waves of her hair spread out across a couch pillow. The lean expanse of her torso nestled warmly into the couch, her legs long and firm in skin tight black leggings. And finally, her purple-sock clad feet resting comfortably in his lap.

His fingers itched to touch her. A few half-hearted excuses of why he shouldn't tried to tickle their way into his head, but they didn't really stand a chance. His hand closed gently around one foot and he felt her entire body tense up at the sudden connection, then relax as she realized her mistake. He tried not to smile. Her reaction was unexpected and it made him want to keep testing the waters, gauging her reactions. The fact that he shouldn't barely registered.

The pad of Stefan's thumb brushed against the arch of Caroline's foot and she fought her instinct to tense this time, refusing to let him know that he was affecting her. So he stubbornly pushed farther. Taking the other foot in both hands and repeating the action. And suddenly he was just giving Caroline a full-on foot massage in an attempt to illicit a reaction from her. It was a dangerous game.

"You're really good at that," she said, startling him. Her voice throatier than usual in a way that made his stomach tighten.

"You know, I don't do this for just anyone," he said, playfully, not removing his hands from Caroline's foot. If anything, he was rubbing them slower, more intensely.

"Lucky me," she said back, with a giggle.

She turned back toward the TV and Stefan carelessly let his hands slip loosely from her foot to her ankle. Fully intending to stop the game and let them rest innocently where they were. But when he glanced up at Caroline's face. Eyes focused purposely on the screen, cheeks pink and lip between her teeth...he knew that she was waiting for him to do more. Not trying to stop him. Not trying to redirect him or the situation. But actively waiting.

And suddenly Stefan's heart was in his throat. It seemed like too much. For her, stressed and emotional about her mom. For him, still trying to get over Elena. For both of them, still trying to mend the last few frayed edges of their tattered friendship. Stefan lifted his hand from her ankle and cleared his throat. She turned onto her back to look at him.

"Stefan," she said, that voice distracting him from the task at hand. The task being...don't put your hands all over your best friend.

"Hmm?" he answered, the attempt at a casual response betrayed by the slight crack in his voice.

"Don't stop," she said, and it was somewhere just above a whisper. Her light eyes more dark and moody than he'd ever seen them.

And he knew he was in trouble. She lifted her leg to offer her foot to him once again. He took it in his hand and rubbed it thoroughly before sliding his hand up to her ankle, and then her firm calf. She inhaled, her breath ragged. It was so quiet that only he could have noticed it. The blood coursing through his body was beginning to pound in his ears as the tension built around the situation.

Her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips and Stefan's eyes followed, imagining what it would be like to stretch his body out to cover hers and taste those lips himself. He tried to shake the thought. It was possible that she still just wanted a foot massage, right? That was a lie and he knew it.

Stefan's hands had a mind of their own as they continued their journey up Caroline's strong leg. He made feeble attempts at kneading the muscle, still under the guise of a massage. Caroline was watching him intently. Eyes following everywhere that his hands were on her. Studying. His eyes watched her reaction as he crossed her knee and his hand gripped her thigh. She worried her lip gently between her perfect white teeth and leaned into his touch.

Heat flooded Stefan's body and then he was stretched out next to her. His fingers threaded through her hair, thumbs on her cheeks, eyes raking over her face. She slipped her thigh between his legs to connect even further and Stefan pulled her flush against him with one arm. Her breath left her in a whoosh. One of her hands rested against his chest.

"Caroline..." Stefan said, rubbing his cheek against hers, "What are we doing?"

It was his way to conveying his uncertainty. An opportunity for her to stop this.

"I don't know," she whispered, her breath tickling his lips. He licked his lips in an attempt to taste her.

But her answer had been just as confused as him, and he started to rethink their reckless behavior. This was major. He wondered if they'd already gone too far. It was a testament to the intensity of the situation that they hadn't even kissed yet and it still felt like a line had been crossed that could never be stepped back over. Their friendship was more important. Caroline's mental health was more important.

Stefan closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Caroline's. Willing his blood to stop surging rapidly through his body. Fighting the urge to press his lips against hers, so close and so tempting. She seemed to be doing the same. Steadying her own breath. He pressed his lips instead against her forehead and then slipped away.

"Where are you going?" Caroline called in a panic as she realized he was moving away.

"I'm going to home. I have to..." he said, his voice strained.

"Stefan!" she called after him, angrily.

She squeezed his eyes shut and kept walking, trying to weigh the damage. What would be worse? Stay and let things continue on the course they were obviously headed toward. Or leave her here angry and alone but without ruining their friendship over something as trivial as a lack of self control. He made the decision and shut the door behind him as he heard Caroline begin to pant furiously.

Misery flooded him as he walked to his car. He punched a tree and kicked a large rock, sending it flying into the woods. His fangs were out and his eyes veined in a mixture of unresolved lust and frustration, confusion and sadness. As he finally calmed down enough to drive home, he couldn't remember a time that he'd felt so passionately and utterly miserable. Not since Elena anyway. And that's when he realized, too late, that this was not how friends behaved. No, there was something else going on here. Something more than that.


	6. Chapter 6

Being stressed, lonely, confused and heartbroken had become normal for Caroline over the past week. She hadn't seen Stefan since he'd practically run away from her house. And after a horrible night of even more tears than she'd already cried, she decided to just pour one hundred percent of herself into spending time with her mom and trying to find ways to help her. She asked Liv about herbal remedies and was working up the courage to ask her if there were any spells that might be of any help.

It was her one mission and she was terrified to ask. Terrified to be told that, no, there was no way to save her mom. And she couldn't bear the thought of hearing that answer. So she just kept visiting, kept soothing, kept her mom comfortable and her own mind occupied. So when Elena called to invite her over to the Salvatore mansion for "girl's night" she politely declined. And when Elena called to inform her of Whitmore's Valentine's Ball. She made up an excuse for why she was busy that night.

But then, Bonnie was back home. The news had lit up Caroline's face and lifted her spirits immediately. She drove immediately to the Salvatore mansion where Stefan's text had said Bonnie was. Caroline found it a little strange that she was staying there, but she was too excited to question it. Any positivity was more than welcome right now.

She pulled into the Salvatore mansion with a mixture of feelings. She was over-the-moon to be seeing Bonnie again, when she thought that might never happen. And she was nervous to see Stefan again after their little...encounter last week. But Bonnie was more important than that, so she stepped out of the car, smoothed her clothes, walked up to the door of the Salvatore mansion and let herself in. She looked around for Bonnie but found the large living room empty.

She recognized the sound of Stefan's boots as they made their way down to her. Her blood began to pound in her ears as she saw him, but she refused to let it show on her face. Playing-it-cool was the name of the game here.

"Caroline, hey," he said, his eyes boring into her as he descended the stairs.

"Hey," she said, after just a moment of hesitation, willing herself to be casual. If she didn't open up to him, then he couldn't hurt her anymore.

She lifted her eyes to meet his as he stopped to stand in front of her.

"I've been, uhh...trying to call you," he said, shyly, "A lot."

Caroline lowered her head.

"Yeah, sorry, I've been busy with my mom and witch stuff and I forgot to get back you," she mumbled.

"Witch stuff? What do you mean?" Stefan asked.

"Oh, just...herbal remedies and stuff like that," she lied. Not wanting to hear from Stefan again that her hopes for curing her mother were impossible.

He nodded.

"Can I get you a drink?" he offered, holding his arm out invitingly toward the kitchen. Caroline glanced to the doorway of the kitchen where she had been so casually and comfortably wrapped in his arms not long ago. Although now it seemed so far removed.

"No, I was just coming to see Bonnie" she said, glancing around again for her.

"Oh, she's asleep upstairs," Stefan said.

Caroline moved to walk up there.

"I'm not sure Damon will let anyone in," Stefan warned her and she stopped in her tracks.

"Damon...?" Caroline asked, confused.

Stefan let out a tiny chuckle, "Yeah, he's her watchdog apparently. He hasn't let anyone in all day."

"But she's okay?" Caroline asked, not overly trusting of Damon.

"Yeah, she's okay. I can hear them. She's just sleeping," he said.

"And Damon is...?" Caroline asked, still confused.

"Just...watching her," Stefan said.

"Huh," Caroline said, crossing her arms and trying to process the information she'd just been given.

Stefan laughed again, "Yeah, it's a little strange to me too. But I guess after what they went through together...it kinda makes sense."

"Yeah..." she said, "I guess."

A silence fell over them then and Caroline shuffled her feet.

"I guess I'll come back tomorrow then," she said, "Tell Damon to tell Bonnie that I came to see her...that's so weird."

She giggled and Stefan smiled at the sound before focusing on her face.

"Caroline..." he began.

"Stefan, don't," she warned, backing away toward the door.

"Obviously we need to talk," she said, stepping closer even as she backed away.

"No, we really really don't," she said, her hand now on the doorknob.

"It's not what you think," he said, referring to him running away to leave her sobbing alone in her house.

"I don't think anything," she lied, turning the knob.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Home," she said, dreading going back to her empty house even as she was saying it.

"I was hoping you were coming back to stay," he told her. Her eyes flashed up at him, taken aback.

"And why would I do that?" she asked, arms crossed and ears again whirring with blood.

"Because you're lonely at your house by yourself, because...I'm lonely with you at your house by yourself," he smiled a little at the end, embarrassed and Caroline couldn't help by thaw a little. He was so damn disarming. It was annoying.

"I'll talk to you later, Stefan," she said, stepping over the threshold.

"Caroline, wait!" he called out, in almost a panic.

"What?" she said, pretending to be annoyed, when really she was relieved that he was stopping her.

He grabbed a paper off of the table and held it out.

"The dance," he said.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at the paper in his hand, a flyer for the Whitmore Ball.

"The Valentine's dance," he repeated, "Elena wants us all to go."

"So go," Caroline said, coldly.

"I was kind of hoping that you would..go with me..." he admitted. It was cute to see him so shy and awkward, she had to admit. She'd never been on the receiving end of a Stefan Salvatore date invitation and she figured now that few of them had ever been refused. It was far to tempting.

She sighed and crossed her arms.

"It's a few days away, and maybe Bonnie will feel like going by then," he said, tempting her further with the thought of Bonnie being able to go and all of them being together like the old days.

She rolled her eyes and tossed her hands up in defeat.

"Fine!" she conceded, glancing at Stefan just long enough to see his relieved smile.

"Wear something red," she demanded, before letting herself out.

She couldn't help but smile and hide her face in her hands as soon as she was safely in her car. She had tried to forget him, avoid him, to stop feeling the things she was feeling for him. And it was proving impossible. She didn't stand a chance.


	7. Chapter 7

It was the night of the Valentine's Ball and Stefan Salvatore felt anything like a centuries plus old vampire as he waited nervously outside of Caroline Forbes' door. He'd been missing her for a week, thinking about this night for days. He tugged on the jacket of his suit and straightened the red handkerchief in his pocket. He glanced down again to the bouquet of red roses in his hands, rearranging the flowers, the white pearls and the black feathers. It had jumped out at him. Passion, purity, darkness all in one. Caroline Forbes.

The door opened before he had knocked and he looked up startled. Caroline stood in the doorway of her house. Her hand still on the door. Her eyes on him, one eyebrow arched.

"Well, were you planning on knocking sometime tonight?" she asked, tapping one red heeled foot in annoyance.

Stefan chuckled, "Yeah, I was just..." he paused and looked her over. Her blonde hair in loose waves across her shoulders, eyes icy blue, lips red and puckered in amused irritation. A red lace dress hugged her curves before fluffing out at the hips and falling to the middle of her milky thighs, sheer red lace covering her arms and chest to the top of her cleavage where it turned solid again. Long legs ended in matching red stilettos.

Suddenly realizing that he'd stopped talking mid sentence to stare Caroline up and down, Stefan cleared his throat and swallowed. It had just been a while since he'd seen her dressed up. And certainly not since the...change in their relationship. It was now glaringly obvious how gorgeous she was. Something he'd been somehow ignorant of until recently.

"I'm sorry," he said, coming to his senses, shaking his head and laughing.

Caroline, leaning against the door frame, cracked a smile then as she watched him, realizing that he was nervous and liking it.

"What you got?" she asked, gesturing to his hands hidden behind his back.

"Oh," he said, remembering his gift and pulling it in front of him, "These are for you."

He extended the bouquet toward Caroline and her eyes brightened as she saw it . She took the flowers gently from him and brought them to her face, sniffing gently more out of habit than actual need. She'd likely smelled them since he stepped out of the car.

"They're perfect, Stefan," she said, admiring the details of the bouquet with her elegant fingertips.

Liz Forbes walked up behind her daughter then and looked over her shoulder at the flowers.

"Beautiful," she said softly, her voice weak and exhausted but warm. Stefan smiled at the approval and at seeing Liz up and about for a change.

"Mom!" Caroline scolded, "You're supposed to be resting!"

Liz chuckled at her daughter's mother-henning of her.

"I am, I am," she assured her, "But I had to come see my little girl off to the dance," she teased.

Caroline chuckled in spite of herself.

"Hey Liz," Stefan said, finally. Trying to ignore how sick she looked and focus on how peaceful she looked instead.

"Hey Stefan," she said back sweetly, "Now, you better have her home by 11 and no drinking. Alcohol or...otherwise."

Stefan laughed at Liz's joke and Caroline smiled, embarrassed.

"Moooom," she fake whined, before wrapping an arm around her mom and looking at her more closely.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?" she offered for what must have been the tenth time, "I can get us some smoothies and we can watch some more Friends."

"No, Caroline, go," she insisted, "I'm fine. I'm just going to turn in early anyway. It would make me really happy for you to go have some fun for a change."

Caroline stared at her for a moment before nodding reluctantly. She hugged her mom goodbye, took her flowers to a vase of water and reappeared back onto the porch.

Stefan extended to her his arm and a smile, and she accepted both. He opened the car door for her and she smiled at the silly, antiquated gesture. In a less gentlemanly act, he accidentally watched her pretty red dress inch dangerously farther up her thighs as she sat down but he made some attempt to ignore it.

On the way to the school, they talked about the past few days since they'd seen each other. Caroline had been busy transitioning her mom from the hospital back home and taking care of her. Stefan had offered to come help, but Caroline had insisted on doing everything herself for now. Her feelings for Stefan only adding to her already overloaded brain. Stefan had spent the week dealing with sharing a house with a damaged Bonnie, an obviously jealous Elena and Damon, caught in the middle of two relationships and as confused as he'd ever seen him.

They were both relieved to be out of their houses and doing something for themselves for a change. After hearing Stefan's stories about life at the Salvatore mansion, Caroline seemed less sure about the fun they would have with all of them together. Instead, she looked a little nervous about it. Stefan reached out without really thinking and laid his hand atop Caroline's where it rested on her leg. She looked up and smiled sweetly.

Arriving at the school, Stefan let Caroline out of the car and she took his arm again. They made their way through the cold winter night and inside the ball. The large hall was decorated with red and white lights, paper hearts, the usual. Stefan proudly marched Caroline through the crowd on his arm. She was glancing across the crowd, searching for Bonnie who she still hadn't seen since she'd been back. Bonnie and Damon were attached at the hip and pretty much completely isolated from everyone else. Except for when Damon had to take a break to fight with/make out with Elena. Or whatever it was they did.

Almost immediately as they descended the stairs, they bumped into Elena. She was wearing something black and strapless and looked so much like Katherine that Stefan had to do a double take. It was the cold anger in her eyes.

"Elena, hey!" said Caroline, cheerfully, genuinely happy to see her friend.

"Hey," Elena said, distractedly, scanning the crowd, likely for Damon.

It took her a moment to register that Stefan and Caroline had come together. She looked to where their arms were linked and then up to Stefan's face. She smiled tensely, her eyes going cold.

"You guys look good," she said, mirroring what she had told them with her humanity off. It sounded even less sincere this time somehow.

Stefan and Caroline glanced at one another before looking down at the floor, uncomfortable.

Elena spotted Damon in the crowd and disappeared toward him. Stefan and Caroline let out a sigh of relief in unison and then smiled awkwardly at one another. The Elena conversation was in their future, but not tonight. Tonight was about escape. Fun.

So Stefan released Caroline's arm for just long enough to take her hand and pull her against him. She let out a little gasp as she was suddenly pressed against him. Stefan looked into her eyes with what he hoped was coming across as playfulness. But what he felt was anything but playful. It felt terrifyingly...right to have her in his arms. He slipped one arm around her waist and held her tight against him. The other hand trailed across her slim, red-lace covered arm and down to gently lace his fingers through hers. Caroline's eyes slipped shut peacefully as she melted into Stefan.

Dancing was their thing. What they did. Their element. Always had been. And now it meant even more than before. Stefan's fingertips were brushing featherlight strokes across the bare skin of Caroline's back. The pad of her thumb was gently stroking the back of his neck. This was definitely a different kind of dance than they used to do. Back when they belonged to other people.

The world was beginning to fade away around them. The fog was settling in. And this time they welcomed it. Stefan pulled back just enough to meet Caroline's eyes again and his lips parted to speak. Words were bubbling to the surface and about to spill over against his will.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear, and he felt her shiver against him.

"And not just because you're gorgeous, but you are gorgeous," he continued, brushing his cheek against hers, "But because of the way that you take care of your mom, and take care of everyone else, and the way that you forgave me after I left. And the way that you never give up on anyone."

Caroline let his words pour over her, smiling and holding back emotional tears.

"If I'm so great, then why did you leave me?" she asked, a single stubborn tear slipping out even though she tried to keep it in, threatening to mess up her makeup.

He brushed the tear gently from her cheek with his thumb before cupping her cheeks with both hands. She covered his hands with her own and watched him intently.

"Because, I was...terrified," he admitted.

"Of what?" she whispered, her warm, sweet breath against his lips.

"Of how much I think I'm starting to-" he said, just about to brush his lips against hers when suddenly the lights began to flicker and they were aware of a commotion from across the large room.

"What the hell is that?" asked Caroline, annoyed at the interruption.

_"Why do you even care? Damon told me that you chose to forget everything about him! And now you want to get all possessive? You need to back off, bitch."_

"Oh my god, that's Bonnie," Caroline said, panicked at her friend's out-of-character outburst.

She took off through the crowd toward her obviously distressed friend, Stefan followed quickly behind. So much for escape, he thought with a sigh.


End file.
